Colloyd Week 2019
by Lil-Samuu
Summary: A set of fics for Colloyd Week, an event organised by Darkhymns on Tumblr.
1. Promises

First fic for Colloyd Week, organised by Darkhymns on Tumblr. Day one, "Promises". Plotless post-game fluff (as usual) featuring Noishe.

For my "Lloyd".

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia. It belongs to Namco.

* * *

Noishe yawned and stretched, pointing his paws out as far as they could go, before shaking his head and rolling over slightly to look at Lloyd and Colette. They had decided that the weather this morning was ideal for a picnic, so they'd quickly packed a small hamper and walked to the perfect spot which had just the right mixture of sunshine and shade and the gentlest breeze so it was beautifully warm but not too hot.

They'd eaten some of the snacks they'd packed and then all of them had stretched out on the blanket, settling into a blissful state where they were so relaxed they were almost asleep but just awake enough to be aware of how cozy they were. The two of them were still that relaxed now he could see, their breathing, body language and occasional soft sighs telling him that.

Having spent a large amount of years around humans he'd learnt to understand them, both their spoken language and body language, rather well. These two he found particularly easy to understand, and not just because he'd known them for a long time, Lloyd his whole life and Colette most of hers. It wasn't just that they tended not to use over complicated verbal language, despite not having tails or ears sometimes their body language was nearly expressive as that of his canine relatives.

For example they had done the traditional human thing of having a formal celebration of their love, promising to be together always, but he could see that promise was expressed with more than just words and the matching rings on their left hands, and it was expressed many times both before and after that ceremony, often in subtle ways. A slight lift of one side of a mouth in the gentlest smile, the twining of fingers, warmth in their eyes directed at each other. He liked to imagine that if they had tails they would wag often at each other, that image made him smile.

It wasn't just a promise to each other that they expressed so well either, lots of the things they did told him that they'd always be with him too. He wasn't sure what the word he wanted was, something like the human concept of family or the canine one of pack, but something more, something special and unique. They'd all been through so much together, supported one another, cared about each other and always would. The gentle scritches in his favourite spot behind his ears, the warm hugs with that slight extra tight hold at the end, the way they would ruffle his fur playfully and so many other things all expressed a lot in simple gestures.

Feeling a sense of happiness that filled his whole body he let his tail thump against the ground in a gentle, slow motion then reached over to nuzzle his humans. They stirred slightly, Lloyd mumbling something about five more minutes as Colette reached up to gently stroke his fur. Then, still mostly asleep, she reached into a pocket and pulled out one of his favourite biscuits. That, he decided as he crunched the treat up happily, was one of his most treasured promises that they had made him, that they would always give him biscuits.


	2. Travelling

Colloyd week fic for day two: Travelling. More post-game plotless Colloyd fluff.

For Frayed-Symphony, thank you for telling me about Colloyd Week.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

When Lloyd had imagined building a boat to travel around the world in he'd imagined something with a sail and more ocean based, but the narrowboat he'd built with Dirk and Colette's help had most certainly now become home.

He and Colette had first discovered narrowboats on a visit to see Regal. They had been on their Exsphere collecting journey and had reached a point where they still knew there were more out there but were finding less and less, sometimes even none, at each place they visited. Trying to think of a way to keep travelling that would allow them to keep looking for Expheres while still achieving something in the places where they couldn't find any they had decided to take a short break. As they were near Altamira they'd decided to spend a few days at the resort and while they were there Regal had mentioned the canal boat system that the Lezareno company was using to transport some of their goods and that they were looking for more people to work for them. The couple had been intrigued, asked about the cargo boats and found a possible solution to their travelling dilemma.

When they'd seen one of the boats the next day when Regal had offered them a tour their decision was made, they'd both instantly liked the boats. It also turned out that the canal network wasn't just a great way for goods to travel, it was becoming known for being a good place for passing along information as well. It might be ideal for hearing news about possible places to check for Exspheres, something they could do while travelling on the boat. Not long afterwards Lloyd was drawing up plans for a boat of their own.

As the boat needed a lot of space for cargo the amount of living space was relatively small but using some clever designs they'd made the most of the space, having furniture that was dual purpose and spaces that were flexible. The living space could also be used as a work space and they'd spent many happy evenings when the boat was tied up safely for the night working on small craft projects together there. While a forge wasn't practical there were still plenty of crafts that were possible to do on the boat, carving was a particular favourite of Lloyd's and the little animals he carved became popular souvenirs sold in the Altamira gift shops. Colette had worked on improving her embroidery skills and that was a hobby that worked well in the limited space on the boat too. There had been many times when Lloyd had looked up from his carving to see a look of happy concentration on her face which always made him smile. Colette had also picked up gardening again and bright plants and flowers adorned some of the outside deck and a few spaces inside. In the lighter evenings they had added to the colourful joy on the deck by decorating the boat, painting it together. A growing menagerie of cute, cheerful animal designs, mostly dogs, scampered along the outside of the boat, carefully depicted in bright, playful colours.

Noishe was also very happy on the boat and somehow fitted well despite the fact that he was a large animal in a small-ish space. The way the layout had been designed meant there was always a cozy spot for him with Lloyd and Colette and enough space so that they weren't squashed together. Except for in the bed. Lloyd had included a space that could be used as a bed for Noishe at night in the boat's design, and Colette had made a lovely soft cushion for it. One of the spaces to sit in the living area was also big enough for Noishe to fit comfortably on to sleep. Noishe often decided, however, that Lloyd and Colette's bed looked the most comfortable, especially if they were in it. That would have been fine, they had deliberately designed it to be just big enough to fit all three of them because the couple knew Noishe liked to share sometimes, if Noishe hadn't decided he liked to play a new game where he took up as much room on the bed as possible.

He never started that way. At the beginning of the night they'd all settle nice and comfortably, Lloyd and Colette curled up together with Noishe at their feet. But during the night he'd somehow wiggle and stretch around until he was spread out as much as possible and had pushed Lloyd and Colette into a small space in the corner. Lloyd would usually grumble about it, reminding Noishe that he had his own bed, but he never actually instructed the arshis to go to it. Secretly he liked the fact that it meant that Colette would curl up even closer to him, her head on his chest and an arm tightly around him. He especially loved it when she nuzzled him and made a soft, cute almost purr-like content noise in her sleep. Eventually though it would be time to get out of bed, have a quick breakfast and get the boat on the move for the day. Lloyd had discovered that the best way to get Noishe out of the very comfortable spot, which he himself often didn't really want to leave, was to throw a biscuit somewhere off the bed so that he'd have to get out to fetch the treat. He now specifically kept a small stash of biscuits in the bedside locker for that purpose. Colette had pointed out once that technically they were probably rewarding him for being naughty by doing that, but she never stopped him from reaching for the biscuits and even gave Noishe a biscuit herself sometimes. Lloyd had a suspicion that secretly she liked it too, and that made it seem even more cozy.

It wasn't just the bed that was cozy, the whole boat was warm, inviting, safe and theirs. It also had the added bonus of having different, often picturesque views each day as they travelled from place to place. A small space it might be, but it was their small space, a special space, their home.


	3. Wings

Colloyd week fic for day three, "Wings". Post-game introspective fic featuring Colette.

For Darkhymns, thank you for organising Colloyd Week.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Colette paused with a shirt midway between the basket and the washing line as she spotted a small bird landing on the birdbath at the end of the garden. Slowly, so as not to startle the creature, she lowered the shirt back into the basket then leant on the back of a garden chair as she watched the bird fluff up its feathers and splash water on itself, beginning to preen.

She was entranced as the little bird stretched out its wings, showing each individual feather as it ran its beak through them. It was odd, she thought. Most people saw birds flying and thought of freedom and travelling. When she was younger, however, while she had associated wings with travelling she had also associated them with the very opposite of freedom because she had known that when she received wings of her own she would be on the journey of regeneration, a journey on which she knew she would die. The fate of the world depended on it, or so she had been lead to believe at the time. She had known it was selfish to wish that she would be able to live but while she had wanted to save the world so that it would be a safe place for her friends to live in a small part of herself wanted to live to enjoy it with them, and felt trapped by a fate she hadn't chosen for herself, one that had been given to her at birth.

When she had actually received her wings, however, the moment had been different to how she had imagined it. Instead of being a solemn event during which she took a step closer to death it had been something of a celebration with both Lloyd and Genis admiring them. Of course, they didn't know what the wings meant and for a moment Colette had been able to forget that too as she enjoyed amusing her friends with the new appendages. She had particularly enjoyed the twinkle of light in Lloyd's eyes, although she hadn't been sure if it had been joy, a reflection of the light from her wings or both. Later on she had decided it was both.

Over time with her friends help she had come to see her wings as much less of a negative, although it had taken a lot of time. Even when it turned out that there was a way of saving not just Sylvarant but also Tethe'alla, a world she hadn't even known existed at the start of her journey, without her having to die they were still a reminder of the lies that had been told and that would have been used to justify her death. Lloyd had, however, gradually been able to make her see that they didn't have to be that, that they were another part of her, a person he loved, and he loved her because of who she was. Who she was happened to be, amongst many other things, a person with wings. It was one detail in a list of many that he loved everything on. Not that he'd worded it exactly like that, he'd used his own particular Lloyd-ish words and manners to do so, and she'd really appreciated it. She still loved the way he looked at her wings with a sense of wonder and joy, all these many years later.

A splash and the sound of flapping wings brought her out of her thoughts and she smiled as she saw the bird soaring away into the beautiful clear blue sky. Impulsively she decided to leave the washing and to follow the bird, to see the world from that different perspective. Letting the feeling of pleasure at being alive and being loved and the warmth of the sunshine on her face bubble up inside her she leapt up, letting her wings carry her into the air as she let out a giggle of delight. She paused when she was above the house, looking around happily at the peaceful afternoon around her. Then, with a playful smile on her face, she flew down to where she had spotted Lloyd working on the vegetable patch, wrapping him in a hug as she half landed, half hovered beside him. He laughed, called her a dork in that wonderful affectionate way that somehow always managed to make her feel special, then ruffled her hair gently with a slightly lopsided smile on his face. Sighing happily he then returned the hug, softly brushing a hand over a wing, that same look of wonder from the first time he'd seen them still on his face. Colette gave a contented little hum and nuzzled Lloyd's shoulder as the pleasant feeling of having her wings fussed washed over her and she thought that it turned out that, surprisingly, wings were a positive thing after all.


	4. Protection

Colloyd Week fic for day four, "Protection". Yet more post-game fluff, set in Altamira featuring Regal as well as Lloyd and Colette.

(I use British English, so sweets is candy/candies. The event at the end is supposed to be something like an Altamira version of Halloween, and the mascot costumes are the kinda type that you often see in theme parks).

For my Tales of friends. Thank you for all the smiles, laughs and support of some of my crazy costume creations.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Regal smiled as he watched the two large fluffy mascot costume creatures happily dance around, interacting with the crowd of people who'd gathered to see them. Whenever the mascot character costumes like these were worn in the Altamira park there would always be another couple of members of staff who'd stay nearby, helping the people in the costumes who were unable to see that well in them if needed. This evening he'd volunteered to take a shift himself, wanting to be around these two in particular because of who was in them.

These two characters, the first two of their kind introduced to the park, had always been popular but tonight their creators were in them and everyone agreed that they were the best performers for those costumes. It wasn't that often that the pair were at the park though, so tonight was a special treat.

He remembered when he'd first mentioned that he was thinking about some new mascots for the park at a reunion with the group of friends who had reunited the worlds. Colette and Lloyd in particular had been really interested and had asked about what sort of characters the mascots would be. At the time there hadn't been any designs made, the only detail that had been figured out was that they wanted the characters to be large, full body costumes that were cute and cuddly, as there was someone in the costume department who thought that making costumes like that which would be great for the park's visitors to interact with would now be possible.

The conversation had moved on to something else and later he'd noticed Lloyd and Colette talking animatedly with some paper and pencils around them at a table. A short time later they'd brought the pieces of paper over to him with happy looks on their faces.

"Something like that?" Colette had asked, and he had looked over the drawings. Two different creatures who looked like a blend of dogs, rabbits, some type of rodent and, well, he hadn't been quite sure what else, perhaps a bit of a dragon and maybe something else too, they were certainly very creative and unique, were playing across the pages in sketches that were rough but full of life. They were odd but somehow worked and looked friendly. He imagined that if they were scaled up to human size they were just the sort of thing that he was looking for. Lloyd had explained that they looked odd because they had decided the characters should be aliens, that way there would be a reason for why the characters couldn't speak human language and anyone could wear the costumes without it being obvious someone different was in there because of the voice.

Initially Regal hadn't been sure about the characters being mute, even Klonoa, the park's previous mascot, had been able to make sounds, admittedly with a very limited vocabulary. Colette and Lloyd had, however, given him looks that indicated that they didn't get why he thought that and had proceeded to demonstrate how the characters could interact with each other and other people by pretending they were them and he was a park guest. It was perfect, and he realised that if anyone could make it work it was those two. Colette had, after all, been unable to speak for a part of the journey to save the worlds and Lloyd particularly had gotten used to communicating with her like that. After that journey they had picked up a new hobby with a type of two person animal costume from Mizuho which they sometimes interacted with people in without it talking too. He'd asked if they wanted a job helping to develop the costumes and their eyes had lit up excitedly.

A few days later he had introduced them and a friend of theirs from Mizuho who made some of the traditional costumes there they'd asked if they could bring along to Penny, the woman from Altamira's costume department who had suggested the project and had left them to work in a workshop he'd set aside for them to use for the project. He'd put them in a separate room partially to keep the designs secret and partially to keep the number of people who knew Colette and Lloyd were there to a minimum. The couple always tried to disguise their appearance if they were somewhere other than Mizuho now due to the amount of people who would harass them about some of the things that had happened in the past when they spotted the couple, and while he trusted Penny and the security staff posted around the areas of the buildings they were going to be in the fewer people who knew they were here the less chance someone who might want to cause trouble would find out that they were.

He had passed by the workroom from time to time to check on their progress and had been pleased to see that the four had worked really well as a team right away. It wasn't long before large, detailed drawings of the two creatures from the front, sides and back were stuck up on the wall and fabric samples and sewing tools were spread across tables. He didn't think he'd ever forget the scene he'd spotted one afternoon when they were all sat on the floor looking as happy as children in a sweet shop surrounded by fabric, some sort of foam, camping mats, wire, hot glue guns and what looked, to him anyway, to be a completely random assortment of objects that he assumed were going to be used for costume construction but he couldn't imagine how. That day he'd decided to just walk past and let them continue without stopping to talk about what they were working on.

A few days after that he had been in his office when George had announced that he had some visitors to see him, and two giant fluffy creatures had squeezed through the door into his office, bouncing and waving happily. He hadn't been able to stop himself from letting out a small laugh of delight, they'd turned out even better than he'd imagined. He instantly wanted to see how other people would react to them and had asked George to cancel any appointments he had that afternoon while he went around the company building with the costume team, happily seeing that pretty much everyone instantly liked the creatures too, giving them high fives and hugs, it was perfect.

After that the team made a couple more of each costume and started training some of the other staff to wear and perform in them, Colette and Lloyd using false names and disguises. Then the costumes had been unveiled in the park and had been an instant hit, so much so that Regal had asked Lloyd and Colette to turn their sketches into a picture book about the characters to be sold in the park gift shops and then eventually to design and make some other characters too.

Whenever they were in the park, either to work on characters or just to visit, they always liked to go out in the character costumes and Regal was always happy for them to do so. He knew they found it a lot of fun and the fact that the costumes covered their whole bodies meant they didn't have to worry about being spotted. The park visitors always loved it when they were around so it was great for the park too, and he'd specifically asked them to come along to the special event that was running in the park that night where visitors were encouraged to wear costumes and the park employees were handing out sweets.

When he'd told Lloyd and Colette about the event Colette had asked if the creatures could have costumes too. He hadn't thought of putting costumes on the costumes, something that initially sounded a little odd, but figured that if anyone could make it work it was them and agreed. A few days before the event they'd taken two of the costumes and a roll of fabric with designs of stars and moons on it into a workshop. A while later the creatures had emerged with sparkly capes and hats and a wand each. Colette had explained that they were mages whose magic involved sweets and smiles. If anyone else had told him that it would have come across as cheesy and corny, but Colette somehow managed to make it just sound cute.

He smiled again as Colette's creature waved her wand at him and he walked over to her. As well as watching out for anyone who might decide to play a little roughly with the characters or anything like that his other job tonight was to be their assistants, bringing them baskets of treats to hand out when they used the signal of waving their wands in a 'sweets summoning spell'. They'd even made him a costume with the same fabric as they'd used for the creature's costumes so they all matched. Colette's creature put her wand back in a pocket in her cape and clapped happily, bouncing up and down a little in an excited gesture as she took the basket. She then made a little thank you gesture and he moved out of the way as a crowd of excited children gathered round her, watching contentedly from a short distance away as she handed out the treats.

It always made him happy to see visitors to the park having a nice time, seeing his friends be a part of that and enjoying themselves too was even better.


	5. Snow

Colloyd week fic for day five, "Snow". Even more post-game fluff, featuring Genis as well as Lloyd and Colette this time.

(I imagine that, after the worlds have been reunited, Flanoir might become a place where more people would want to visit, so more inns would be built there. The one in this would be on the edge of the town.)

For the people who have kindly left reviews and nice comments on my fics, thank you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Genis shook his head and rolled his eyes slightly but couldn't help but let a small hint of a smile appear on his face as he watched Lloyd and Colette from the Flanoir inn's window. The pair were still out in the garden, making snow creatures. They'd all been staying at the inn, which they had to themselves in a quieter period for the town, for a couple of days, taking the opportunity to spend some time together while Raine was at a conference, and the garden at the back of it was starting to resemble a small snow zoo. The fact that Colette had wanted to make a snow dog hadn't surprised him, and some of the others made sense, but they had gotten more ambitious as time went on and he'd initially been sceptical about one of their other ideas. He hadn't thought that a snow dragon would work but somehow they had created a sleeping dragon, curled up with its wings settled closed on its back, looking so lifelike it was almost like it would blink, yawn and stretch at any moment. Their skills were definitely improving.

The snow creature they were currently putting the finishing touches on was another dog, specifically the inn's dog. A large mutt who was a giant walking ball of fluff, Bonnie had instantly liked Colette. She was the reason why they were able to stay at the inn as themselves, at least when there weren't any other guests around. The innkeeper, Tess, had an unusual method for figuring out if there were any guests who should be refused entry to the inn, she let the dog decide. Apparently it worked, she had told them that the only times that Bonnie had indicated that she didn't like someone they had gone on to cause trouble at another inn.

Lloyd and Colette had told him that when they had first stayed at the inn they had, as was usual now, used false names and had changed their appearances to lessen the chance of them being recognised to try and avoid any of the unpleasantness that seemed to happen far more often than was reasonable when they were recognised. They had, however, unwittingly given unintentional clues about who they might be during a conversation at dinner when the other guest staying at the inn that night had complained about events of the past involving the Chosen and her friends and, annoyed at that, Lloyd had responded to him, and had tried to present an alternative viewpoint without actually saying who he was.

When the other guest had gone to their room Tess had guessed that they had known some of the details of those events because of who they were. They had expected to be asked to leave and had stood up from their table, saying that they would pack their bags. Tess had, however, insisted that they sat back down because if Bonnie said they were OK then that was good enough for her and had explained that she'd just like to ask a few questions to better understand some of the past if they didn't mind.

They had found a new friend that day and Genis was glad that his friends had, it was good that there was an inn where they didn't have to try and hide in disguise. He generally didn't have as much of a problem with being recognised and harassed like they did but it was nice to have a space where he knew they were all safe. He knew Colette and Lloyd particularly liked this inn too, not just because of Tess and Bonnie but also because of the friendly atmosphere of the little place, and because the rooms were comfortable and homey. They'd chosen their favourite room to stay in and had shown it to him when they first arrived, right at the top of the inn in the attic it was small but warm and snug and had beautiful views of the town from the skylight. He could see why they liked it so much. It was nice for them to be able to stay somewhere where they felt so comfortable, could relax and have fun.

The expressions on Lloyd and Colette's faces as they came through the door indicated that making the sculptures had, indeed, been a lot of fun, and Colette's smile grew as Bonnie spotted her and leapt up to greet her, her tail wagging furiously.

"Look Bonnie, it's a snow you," Colette giggled, pointing to the newly finished snow dog in the garden. Bonnie gave her a slightly confused look, head tilted to one side, then gently tugged at her sleeve, trying to get her to come inside.

"I know, it's cold outside. We'll come and sit by the fire with you," Colette smiled as they closed the door and took off their shoes and coats. She then let the dog lead them to the fireplace where they sat on the floor in front of it, giving Noishe, who was already sat by it, a fuss as they sat down. Bonnie gave a happy yip then grabbed a blanket from the back of one of the chairs and pulled it over to them. As Colette took the blanket and started to wrap it around her and Lloyd's shoulders Bonnie tried to sit on her lap. Genis couldn't help but snicker, Bonnie was certainly much too large to be a lap dog but was intent on insisting that she could be. Colette and Lloyd laughed good-naturedly and somehow managed to find a comfortable position leaning against Noishe with Bonnie sprawled across their laps.

"How old are you guys? Playing in the snow?" Genis gently teased them.

"Hey, they have a whole festival with people making sculptures in the snow here, it's not childish!" Lloyd huffed.

"It is a lot of fun though," Colette beamed, reaching into the pocket that Noishe was nuzzling with his nose and pulling out two biscuits, one for him and one for Bonnie. "You should have joined us."

"And frozen my nose off? No thank you," Genis said, although in a happy tone of voice that indicated that he was still teasing.

"I'll join you now though, it looks comfy there," he smiled, moving from the window seat to settle beside his friends.

A short time later Tess appeared with a tray filled with mugs of hot chocolate which helped make the room feel even more warm and snug. After they'd finished their drinks Lloyd put an arm around Colette's shoulders and closed his eyes, tired after all of the work in the garden and sleepy in the warmth. Colette smiled gently, nuzzled him and took his hand in one of hers, then reached out for one of Genis's hands too before closing her eyes herself, sighing peacefully and contentedly. Genis took her hand and leant against her. Aside from the extra fluff of Bonnie this felt so comfortably familiar, like so many evenings they had all spent together curled up by a fire when they were younger. He yawned and decided that, actually, a nap before dinner sounded like a rather good idea. As he started to drift off into slumber he decided that perhaps bringing Presea here would also be a good idea too, not only did the inn have a nice atmosphere Bonnie's paws were huge, he bet she'd love her paw pads.


	6. You're Still You

Colloyd week fic for day six, "You're Still You". Post-game fluff (again, I can't write anything but fluff :) ), set shortly after the end of it, featuring a conversation between Zelos and Colette.

For my "Lloyd". Thank you for helping me proofread so much fluff.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Zelos chuckled as he spotted Colette waving her hands in an encouraging gesture with an earnest look on her face as she watched Lloyd playing a card game with Genis. Sheena, who had been teaching them the game, was sat at the table with the two young men and Colette was sitting in a large cozy chair a little distance away.

As he got closer Zelos could hear Colette whispering quietly under her breath.

"Come on Lloyd, you can do it, you can win!" she mumbled.

"Hey little angel," Zelos said at a normal volume, making Colette jump slightly.

"Can I sit with you?" he asked, gesturing at the chair beside hers. She nodded in reply.

"Has Lloyd managed to win yet?" Zelos asked.

"No, but I'm sure he will soon, he's trying his best and he's getting better," Colette said, her certainty about that clear in her voice. Then she looked over to the table again as she heard a groan from Lloyd and a triumphant cheer from Genis.

"Maybe not this time though, huh?" Zelos said, shaking his head slightly.

"No, but soon for sure," Colette beamed at him before turning to look over at Lloyd and cheering out encouragement for him, this time at a volume he could hear. Lloyd smiled, waved at her then turned back to his cards with a look of determined concentration on his face.

"You two are too cute," Zelos laughed, causing Colette to blush.

"Bet you're having fun getting to spend time with him alone now you're on that Exsphere collecting quest," Zelos said, and he laughed as Colette's blush became even deeper. She was as easy to tease as Lloyd was.

"It's not been an easy quest, but it has been nice spending time with him and Noishe. It's nice to be able to have the freedom to decide where we want to go too, although it is a bit weird," Colette said quietly, twining her fingers together.

"Weird?" Zelos asked.

"When I was younger I wasn't really allowed to leave the village much, and most of the time I was told where I should be and when. And then on the journey of regeneration and then to reunite the worlds we had to go wherever the quest took us, and now suddenly, after all these years, I'm not being told where to go. Lloyd and I follow any leads we hear about of course, but..." Colette's voice trailed off as she realised she wasn't sure if she was explaining herself very well.

"I guess that makes sense," Zelos nodded.

"It's not just the freedom of where to travel to that feels kinda odd, it's weird to be able to do stuff like pick out my own clothes, to be able to choose what I like and not what I've been told as a Chosen I have to wear. And being called Chosen, I don't feel like that's right any more, but some people still do, some in a nicer way than others," Colette paused again, frowning slightly.

"I'm sorry, I sound like I'm complaining. I don't mean it that way, it's just, well, it's, uh, it's like the person I was told I should be all my life isn't who I am at all now and it's kinda weird being this new person. Being able to have this whole new life I never expected to have, when I'd spent all that time before thinking I'd die on the regeneration journey. Sorry, I don't know if I'm making sense," Colette continued, struggling to find the words she wanted to express herself.

"Firstly, stop apologising. And secondly, I think I get what you mean. But tell me, you still love dogs, and give them all names, you still want to work to make the world a better place, you still do your best every day to do that and to be a good person, you're still a loved and treasured friend to a small group of people who care very much about you, and you still love Lloyd don't you?" Zelos asked, his tone serious but still light-hearted. Colette blushed a little again and nodded in reply.

"Then you're still Colette, and I wouldn't worry about it too much. You'll get used to all this new stuff, and you have Lloyd, and all the rest of us, to help you," Zelos said, smiling at her. Colette sniffed slightly and brushed away what was, from her expression, a small happy tear.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"No problem. We Chosen have to stick together, like I always said," Zelos beamed back at her, ruffling her hair playfully.

Their attention was grabbed by another groan and cheer from the table. Apparently that round of the card game hadn't been Lloyd's turn to win either.

"Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd, bud, what are you doing?" Zelos tutted loudly enough for Lloyd to hear him.

"Playing a card game, and trying my best to win!" Lloyd huffed back at him.

"Well you're doing it all wrong, everyone knows if you want to win at cards you need a good luck charm!" Zelos said, shaking his head. Then he leapt up and quickly but gently picked Colette up, making her squeak with surprise, and plonked her down on Lloyd's lap.

"There, that's better, you're sure to win now," Zelos grinned, standing with his hands on his hips in a victory pose, clearly pleased with himself.

"Zeeeeloooos," Sheena snarled.

Zelos muttered an 'uh-oh' and then decided the best strategy was probably to run away, fast, as Sheena leapt up from the table and headed in his direction.

At the table Genis ignored the commotion of Sheena chasing Zelos, trying to catch him and punish him for being an idiot yet again, and started shuffling and dealing the cards for another round of the game.

"I can move if you want, I don't want to make you uncomfortable," Colette said quietly, the blush that was becoming a familiar feature that night appearing on her face again.

"Nuh, no, it's OK, maybe Zelos is right," Lloyd said, blushing too. Colette smiled at him and moved to settle a little more comfortably, sitting so that she could see his cards and putting an arm around his shoulders.

Genis shook his head, rolled his eyes a little and said nothing but he was smiling a little as he finished dealing the cards.

Lloyd did win that next round, although whether it was because he got a good hand and Genis didn't, whether it was because he'd gotten better at remembering the rules, whether Colette really was a good luck charm for him or some combination of all those three things became a topic of debate between himself, Genis and Zelos on and off for the rest of the night.


	7. Free Day

Colloyd Week fic for day seven, the last day, "Free Day". I guess the theme word that suits this is "Support" perhaps. Unsurprisingly it's more fluff, featuring Sheena and Colette this time.

(As there doesn't seem to be a unit of currency in the game smaller than a Gald I figured the Symphonia version of the expression "a penny for your thoughts" would probably be "a Gald for your thoughts".

For everyone who took part in Colloyd Week. Thank you for sharing all of your great fan art and fics. I'm sorry I don't have a Tumblr account to leave comments or reviews but I have loved seeing everyone's great work. Thank you for letting me join in too. And thank you again to Darkhymns for organising it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

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Sheena took a deep breath then let it out in a long, relaxed sigh. The roof might be a bit of an unconventional place to relax but sitting with her back resting on the tiles, looking up at the stars was helping her to unwind after a hectic day. She looked down to the edge of the roof as she heard footsteps and spotted a soft pinkish-purple glow then smiled as Colette flew up to the roof.

"The stars are so pretty tonight, do you mind if I join you?" she asked quietly.

Sheena patted the space beside her on the roof then frowned slightly as she noticed what Colette was wearing.

"Is that one of Lloyd's shirts?" she asked.

"Yeap," Colette beamed happily. "When I said I wanted to go out and look at the stars he said he thought it might be a little chilly out, and he didn't want me to get cold, so he gave me his shirt. It's still warm and it smells like him, it's nice."

"You're weird," Sheena said teasingly, laughing a little. Colette just shrugged and smiled happily in return as she settled comfortably on the roof beside her friend.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, and Sheena thought that that was one of the nice things about Colette and Lloyd, they both seemed to have an instinct for knowing when you could use some company, and when you did when you just wanted someone close by and when you needed to talk. She wasn't surprised that Colette had known where to find her either, she was such a good friend she knew where Sheena's quiet thinking spots were.

Eventually Sheena leant over on her side to face Colette and offered her a Gald for her thoughts.

"Just thinking how nice it is out here tonight, and how delicious dinner was, how comfy and soft and warm this shirt is and about what Lloyd and I need to do tomorrow, including baking some more biscuits for Noishe, stuff like that," Colette replied. "Not sure they're really worth a Gald. You?"

"Don't think mine are worth one either. Just thinking about village stuff, about how there's a wedding coming up I need to write a speech for, and the preparations for the festivals that are happening soon. Why someone in the past thought nearly a whole week of festivals all together was a good idea I don't know," Sheena sighed, shrugging slightly.

"Ohh, festival week! The music and drums and dancing and the stalls and the food, it's so fun! Oh, and the costumes, I love the costumes!" Colette clapped her hands together excitedly. Then she tipped her head to the side slightly in thought. "It must be an awful lot of work for you though."

"'Sign this, approve that, where are we putting this stall and that drum?' will be awfully familiar things to hear for a little while probably, yes. But I think it's worth it if everyone enjoys themselves. And I know at least one person who will, look how excited you are already and it's not even the start of festival week yet," Sheena chuckled.

"Lloyd and I are happy to help you if there's anything we can do," Colette said.

"You're both already on the volunteer committee aren't you?" Sheena asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes, but I meant if we can do anything to help you personally. Even if it's just something like bringing over some dinner so you and Zelos don't need to cook, or delivering paperwork," Colette said.

"Don't tempt me, your vegetable stew is rather good," Sheena smiled.

"Vegetable stew tomorrow it is then if you like," Colette smiled back.

"I was joking," Sheena laughed.

"I wasn't," Colette said. "Besides, there's a whole bunch of stuff from the vegetable patch that needs cooking and eating, some of the things we've grown this year have had an unhelpful habit of all going ripe at once. We shouldn't be surprised though I suppose, it's happened before, maybe we should ask around to see if anyone has any tips or advice."

"You're having a lot of fun with your garden again this year aren't you? I noticed the flowers are looking really beautiful too," Sheena said.

"Thanks," Colette replied happily. "It's so nice having a little garden of our own. The house too. I never imagined all those years ago before I went on the journey of regeneration that I'd not only get to live after it but also to experience so many things, to see so many places, to get to live in such a nice place with some of my friends around me, to get married to Lloyd and live this peaceful happy life with him. I thank my lucky stars every day. Thank you for inviting us to live in the village."

"You really don't need to keep thanking me for that, especially now you've been here for years" Sheena replied, reaching over to ruffle Colette's hair. "It's good to see you two safe, and so happy."

Unable to find the words she wanted to express herself and all of the happiness bubbling inside her Colette decided that a hug might work, and she wrapped her arms tightly around her friend. Sheena smiled and shook her head slightly then returned the gesture, noticing that the shirt did, indeed, faintly smell like Lloyd. She could also smell the shampoo Colette liked using on her hair and all of the other smells that were somehow Colette, all of which, including the shirt, were familiar, comforting smells to her.

It was good to see her friends happy, and having them living in the village made her, and Zelos, happy too. They all looked out for one another, helped each other whenever they could, and had many happy times relaxing together. For so much of her life the village had been a lonely place where many people often refused to even talk to her. Now, having worked hard to do as much as she could on the various quests to help save and reunite the worlds and everything that had happened afterwards the village had gradually become a more warm and welcoming place. It was good to be able to share it with such loyal, kind, wonderful friends.


End file.
